


Stayin' Out to Watch the Sunset

by sweetiesong (orphan_account)



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-23
Updated: 2013-04-23
Packaged: 2017-12-09 06:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/770942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/sweetiesong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a quick escape from some Sontarans and a sleepy Clara goes to bed, River Song appears in the TARDIS to celebrate hers and the Doctor's wedding anniversary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stayin' Out to Watch the Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is my first River/Eleven fic, or rather the first one that I've actually completed. I should also mention that this is all inspired by a dream I had. Dreams, gotta love 'em, eh? I'd be lost without them!

With a forceful entry into the TARDIS, Clara and the Doctor had managed to escape the Sontarans from killing them stone dead. He rushed to the console and pulled every lever and pressed every button to get them out of there and complete their hasty getaway.

“So they’re Sontarans then!” She finally managed to speak, her lungs still desperate for air as she did so.

“Yes, yes they are and if you couldn’t already tell, they are a nightmare when you land on their ship unannounced and when they’re thinking of war strategies!” The Doctor yelled with such a level of urgency in his voice as he pulled the last lever and flew into the Time Vortex.

They had planned to go to Apalucia but due to Clara accidentally leaning on the randomiser button, they had landed on the Sontaran ship and they were less than pleased to see them.

“Doctor, I’m feeling really tired. Okay if I have a lie down?" The tiredness showed on her face and in her movements: her drowsy eyes and limp movements were too obvious not to miss.

“Oh okay then, off you pop. Night, Clara!”

He waited for a few minutes to ensure that Clara was at least in her room before making any additional noise like messing around with the TARDIS or playing some music whilst he does so. He often listened to Muse whilst messing around in the TARDIS or thinking about anything and everything.

He walked towards the console and started playing Starlight through the speakers and allowed himself to get lost in the guitar and piano riffs for once. He stayed like this for about a minute before he began to walk down the steps to perform some maintenance on his beloved ship.

About half way down the steps, he noticed a familiar electric flash that seemed to come from behind him.

“Let me guess, going to do some unnecessary work on her?” He looked around and there she was. Dressed in some matte-brown jodhpurs and an equally tight top, she walked over to him, her curls bouncing with each step she took. “Hello, Sweetie.” He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her hands around his neck. He had gotten used to this since she did it often enough but he still loved it when she was like this which tended to vary depending on how old she actually was at the time. That’s the thing about her: she’s unpredictable, very in fact, but it kept him guessing and it was probably his favourite thing about their relationship.

“It’s not as unnecessary as you may think, Doctor Song,” He replied, causing her to shoot him her signature ‘and-you-are-so-wrong’ look. “Now, is there a reason why you’re here?”

“Why? Can’t a girl go and see her husband once in a while?” River smirked at him and raised an eyebrow while folding her arms. He instinctively knew she wasn’t going to reveal her intents easily although he knew why she there anyway. He just wanted to surprise her as it’s usually the other way around: River was usually surprising him by making him catch her when she jumped out of a space ship or showing off how she can pilot the TARDIS around a younger version of him and her mother. But in a way, that’s what he loved about her: the constant mystery that surrounds her just made him become addicted and the rush of adrenaline he gets with her. River was his equal and she kept him on his toes a lot, and that’s what he loved most about her.

“Of course she can! But you usually have a reason for turning up unexpectedly.”

“Not always, my love.” River sat down and watch him pilot the TARDIS. “So where are we going then? Somewhere nice, I assume.”

“When have I ever taken you somewhere that wasn’t?”

“Well to put it in simple terms,” She walked up to him, swaying her hips with each step. River brought her face up to his ear and placed her hand on his chest. It was in that moment that he knew what was about to come. “Spoilers.”

She had assumed that he wasn’t as far along in their time-line as she was from his response. From her memories, there had been many a time where he had landed on an unsafe planet. Most notably whenever he pressed the randomiser button and after the third time, she started to do environment checks for that reason solely.

River stepped away from him, maintaining eye-contact as he turned his body to continue flying the TARDIS. She walked around to the opposite side of where he stood, eyeing the controls. Her eyes got drawn to the randomiser button and with a quick check to make sure he wasn’t looking, a mischievous smile grew on her face and her finger tapped it with great speed. The TARDIS made a slight noise as her finger pulled away from the bright yellow button. The Doctor poked his head around the Time Rotor. “River, did you touch something?”

“Just admiring your skills, sweetie.” He immediately noticed her smile. It was a playful one with her eyes trying to conceal her mischievous intents. He couldn’t help but flash a little smile back as he turned back to the controls. “So, where are we going then? And I’m a little surprised that you haven’t realised what day it is yet. A little disappointed too.” He looked back at her, puzzled at her words. He knew exactly what was special about this day but he wanted to keep everything a surprise.

“Well, it’s somewhere on Metraxolis to put it in simple terms!”  
“Better change then!”  
“What’s wrong with what you’re wearing?” She headed down to the wardrobe room without giving an answer. She had a hunch about where the TARDIS was going to take them so naturally, she dressed for the occasion. “River!” He called out to her but all she could do was laugh at the fact that he didn’t know that she set the controls to random, however River knew that she could actually get away with this stuff. He loved her too much to stay mad at her for something like that.

She came out wearing what could only be described as winter gear. The Doctor looked back at her puzzled, as he knew Metraxolis was pretty warm.

“Well, aren’t you going to get something warm on?”  
“I don’t need to. Shouldn’t you take off a few layers?”  
“Oh, always so close to perfect sentence, my love. But I don’t think I need to, unless you have other plans. Then I’d be happy to!” River said, caressing his arm as she did so, causing him to shoot her a little smirk.

A few seconds later River noticed that the brakes were on again, and with a flick of her hand she turned them off. The same process repeated again and they finally landed.

He stood by the door for a second with a puzzled look on his face. “You turned the brakes off again, didn’t you?”  
“Whatever gave you that idea?” She walked past him out of the doors, winking at him when they made eye-contact.

He glanced outside and then rushed over to the monitor. _She hit the randomiser button, and of course she’d have a feeling about where the TARDIS was going because she’s... ugh._ He thought to himself, but as he looked at the monitor for a second time, he read the name of the planet. “Koriwase? Koriwase! River, wait there!” He rushed to get a thicker coat on and ran out of the doors, to catch up with his wife. He loved going to Koriwase, the ice planet. It was more snowy than icy but the people who discovered it decided that Koriwase sounded better than Yukiwase. But he loved to see the two moons rising at night; when night fell, the moons would hang in the sky, guarding the planet and themselves or so legend has it anyway. The Doctor was glad that they landed there as it was much more beautiful than the complex cities of Metraxolis. 

“So you finally realised then?” She said, laughing through her words. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him as they walked over the cliff edge.

“You could just tell me when you’re going to press it, you know.” He whispered into her ear.

“I could, but where’s the fun in that?” They looked at each other, laughing and sighing afterwards.

“So, have you forgotten what day it is?” She asked inquisitively as they sat down on the snowy ground by the edge.

“Of course I haven’t. I just wanted to surprise you.”  
“By doing what?”  
“By giving you this.” He reached into his pocket and held out his hand. A small blue box wrapped in a delicate gold bow appeared and he signalled for her to take it.

She lifted it out of his hand and undid the bow that was sitting on top of the rectangular box. Her fingers lifted the top of the gift off and inside was a silver chain with a glass-looking charm hanging off it. She lifted the necklace out of its holder and held it up to the light. The light revealed the hidden message within the charm: “I love you” written in circular Gallifreyan. As she held it suspended in mid-air, tears formed in her eyes. The Doctor turned his head and placed a gentle and soft kiss to her cheek as tears of happiness travelled along the contours of her face.

“Happy anniversary, darling.”

River threw her arms around him, knocking him to the floor in the process and causing them to erupt in laughter.

“I take it you’re happy then?”  
“Oh shut up, you nostalgic idiot!” More laughter ensued as they got up from where they were laying and shook off the snow from their clothes.

They overlooked the view from the cliff edge with their arms securely wrapped around each other for a while, enjoying each other’s company and the humbling warmth that came with it.

“And if my hunches are right, the sun should set any minute now.” The Doctor looked at his watch and focussed on it, causing River to grab his wrist and move it so he could actually focus on what was about to happen.

And he had been right. The crystal white sun started making its way below the pale blue sky and off into the horizon as the two moons that surrounded the planet came into view and as they did, the stars appeared in the sky, one by one, like a chain reaction of fairy lights illuminating the dark sky and forming beautiful patterns that seemed to all connect to each other. He couldn’t think of a better way to spend their anniversary and neither could she.

“They’re all so beautiful and intricate.”  
“They’re like you then.” He bopped her nose while he said it.  
“Ooh, you’ve gone all romantic! Not that I mind of course.”  
“Well, should we go back to the TARDIS, honey?”  
“Yes, yes we should because I’m starting to feel a chill.”

After kicking their way through the thick and heavy snow and occasionally throwing bits of snow each other, they pushed open the blue, wooden doors and stepped into the dark console room.

“You know, I do like this design for the console room. There’s less clutter.” She propped herself up onto the control console, much to his annoyance. “And it’s good for sitting on, unlike the other one.”

“Just be careful, okay?”  
“Being careful’s no fun! You should know that by now, sweetie.” She looked over to him as he started pressing buttons on the console. “Are you taking her somewhere else?”

“Did you want me to?”

“I’d rather we stay here for a while.” He walked up towards her, her legs wrapping around his back and her hands loosening his bow tie and using it to gently pull his head further towards her.

“River, you do realize that Clara’s sleeping?”

“Fine, come with me.” She jumped off the console and dragged him running along the never-ending corridors to one of the many bedrooms or more specifically, ‘their room’, the doors clamping behind them each step of the way making a loud clunking noise. To anyone asleep on board, they'd be woken instantly. It's no surprise that Clara tossed and turned before getting up to see what all of the fuss was.

“Doctor, is that you?” A sleepy voice muttered behind them. They stopped in their tracks and turned around.

“Clara, hello. Did you, um, have a nice sleep?” The awkwardness of the situation was beginning to make itself known and the looks on everyone’s faces seemed to vary: the Doctor’s screamed embarrassment, Clara’s screamed confusion while River seemed to be enjoying it, a little too much perhaps.

“Okay who is she and why is she here? Or was I right about this place being a ‘snog-box’?”

“Oh I do quite like the thought of that! Don’t you, sweetie?” She nudged his arm to which he responded by shaking her off as the embarrassment grew on his face.

“Well Clara, um, this is Doctor River Song, my, um, wife.”

“Wife? Well, don’t let me stop you from doing anything. And if you need anything, let me know!”

“Oh we have everything we need! It’s great in prison. Lots of handcuffs just laying around!”

“River, I don’t think it’s appropriate to say that out loud!” At that moment, he was turning red from blushing too hard. His eyes seemed to widen as his face twisted towards his shoulder.

“I’m going to assume that those are for a collecting fetish of yours and just turn a blind eye.” Clara winked as she turned around and headed back into her room while River burst out laughing and continued to drag her husband along into their bedroom to enjoy and celebrate their marriage.


End file.
